Last year the Hiland Lady Hawks rattled off a record seven straight games without a loss to open their soccer season.
This year they got to zero.
But you cant blame that entirely on the Lady Hawks talent, which rivals last seasons record-setting team. Instead, you could say that their competition had something to do with it.
Perennial powerhouse Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (CVCA) barreled out of the locker room up 2-1, and within minutes in the second half had blown it wide open, eventually cruising to a 7-1 victory.
I really did not want to play them the first game out of the gate, said Hiland coach Pat Miller. Its a little frustrating to play the way we did in the first half and then come out of it with a score like that, but we learned a lot from this game and we will use it to get better.
But even in the defeat, Miller found a pair of positives which rose from the ashes. The first was the way his squad had played in the first half before tiring in the second. The other was the fact that his team managed a goal against CVCA.
The latter may not seem like that big of a deal, but considering the circumstances in their previous meetings, it was something to be happy about.
That was the first goal we have ever scored against CVCA ever, said Miller with a chuckle. Theyve got a tremendous program, they made it to Regionals last year and only lost three players from that team. Plus, theyve only got two kids on that team that dont play club soccer all year around, so they came into the game ready, and we came in looking like it was our first game.
Miller knows he has players who play multiple sports, meaning that summer is not necessarily a time when his team is getting a lot of PT together and honing their skills.
Therefore, he said, what they do in practice during the season becomes exponentially more important. He talked to his team following the game and the next day at practice about making every moment count.
I thought against that kind of competition, we came out and played 47 minutes of very solid play, said Miller of the first half. Then we started to get tired and the wheels came off. We just couldnt keep up with them physically and, again, they were in great soccer shape and we werent.
Miller said the important thing from the game was not the final score, but rather how his team responded to the loss. With expectations for the soccer season as high as they have ever been, Miller wanted to see enthusiasm and effort in the next days practice. He got both, as his team set to work to get more game ready for their next contest.
Weve got kids who will work hard, and kids who like to play the game, said Miller. I think as the season goes along, we will get better and better as we get into soccer shape.
That said, Miller said that if he could play CVCA every game, he would do it because he knows it would challenge his kids to have to get better to compete, which would only help them in the long run.
As for the Lady Hawks goal, it belonged to Irelie Riggle who found some breathing room with a few minutes to play in the first half and lofted a shot past the CVCA keeper to cut the lead to 2-1.
Unfortunately, it was just about the last thing the Lady Hawks had to cheer about the rest of the night.
On a more positive note, the junior varsity did something special in downing CVCA 2-1 in the contest.
